1-Month-Old Baby Sitting On Mother’s Lap Gets Ejected From Car After Crash

A one-month-old baby boy lost his life in a fatal car crash while traveling on the Florida Turnpike in Osceola County on Thursday. The baby, placed on a female passenger’s lap, was ejected from the car after the vehicle slammed into a semi-truck.

Troopers said the two-vehicle crash took place in the southbound lanes of the turnpike near mile marker 214 at around 6:35 a.m. Details revealed by the Florida Highway Patrol said another accident had taken place in the southbound lanes prior to the vehicle crashing into the semi-truck. As the semi-truck driver waited in the lane, the car with a 38-year-old driver approached the halted semi-truck and failed to stop, according to CBS affiliate News 6 WKMG.

The vehicle crashed into the semi-truck and led to the little baby being thrown out of the vehicle. The 41-year-old mother, who had placed the baby on her lap while traveling, was not wearing a seatbelt, said law enforcement officials.

The baby boy succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on the spot. The mother was taken to the hospital in critical condition while the father also suffered serious injuries from the crash. It is unknown why the 38-year-old father failed to stop the car before ramming into the stationary semi-truck.

According to details revealed by troopers, the first crash that took place Thursday morning involved another semi-truck that lost control. The driver had struck a guardrail and caught fire just before 5 a.m., according to WFTV Channel 9. Officials began diverting traffic that was lining up behind the vehicle, and the semi-truck involved in the second crash had halted at the scene before being slammed into by the 38-year-old father’s sedan.

The family from Los Angeles, California, had only recently shifted to Florida before losing their infant baby in the accident, according to Lt. Kim Montes.

The father told the police that the little one was placed in a carrier backseat during the car ride, according to News4JAX. However, when the baby got fussy, the father said his mother carried him and placed him on her lap to comfort him, Lt. Montes said. So far, no charges have been filed in connection with the accident.

Parents traveling with children are required by Florida law to keep their babies secured in baby carriers or keep them seated in car seats that are built into their vehicle.